Thinking about working as a hospice nurse...

[nurse678]

I'm a newer nurse and work in a critical care setting. I do not like it. I am too stressed and have terrible anxiety. I love to care for the patients, but with the high stress environment, I feel as though I am unable to focus on providing the type of care I would like. I have been told that I am very compassionate and able to communicate well with families.

Would you be willing to tell me what the typical responsibilities are of a nurse who works in hospice? (not travel hospice nurses, just the ones who stay in the building)

This is my perspective, administering pain meds, providing emotional support for the pt and their families, turning and repositioning, general hygiene, and general comfort measures. Please excuse me if I am totally off base with my perspectives. I would like to hear what the true responsibilities are of the hospice nurse. thank you in advance.

[ErinS, BSN, RN]

I do not work in an inpatient hospice, but I can speak to community hospice nursing. I am not sure how different it is, but my job is stressful, probably the most stressful nursing job I have ever had. We actually have a former ICU nurse who came to hospice, and is now leaving because it is too emotionally stressful for her. Not trying to scare you, because it is an amazing field, and every day I am grateful for a job I love, but it is not for everyone. I would especially think hard about it if you live in an area where it would be hard for you to get another job in the hospital if you did not like hospice.

[nurse678]

Thank you. I really appreciate your reply. I'm just trying to find my niche here, so any input is very valuable to me.

[MissIt]

Of course it depends a bit on the facility where you work, but ours is a lot more technical than I thought it would be. Pain is of course, a major concern. There aren't many IVs, but many of our patients have central lines or subcutaneous sites for their meds. We have patients with PCAs, epidurals, CPAPs, wounds like nothing I've ever seen before (and I'm an oncology nurse, definitely have seen some terrible wounds). Lots of dementia and people admitted for uncontrolled symptoms, in addition to pain (respiratory secretions, dyspnea, cough, bowel and bladder issues, nausea, vomiting, seizures, pruritus, fatigue, etc, etc, etc). It's kind of like a medical/surgical floor, a LTC facility, and a psych unit all rolled up into one, with a little bit of peds thrown in.

But, here's the main difference for me... our team is there to make the end of these patients lives as good as we can for them and their families. There is a camaraderie that isn't like the hospital (in my experience, anyway). We have therapy dogs on the floor, volunteers all day and evening, massage therapists, chaplains and social workers that are almost always there. The focus isn't curing, it's caring and it feels really different from the hospital. Of course we have problems to solve and symptoms to manage, but it's much more holistic. It's how you thought nursing would be before you went to nursing school. LOL

If it were me, I would go volunteer at the inpatient hospice where you think you might like to work. Or at least go shadow a nurse for a day or two.

[nurse678]

Great idea! Thank you so much for your reply!!